ANCs got the message in November

The recently completed Glover Park Transportation Study called for a climbing lane on the northbound lane of New Mexico Avenue. The road is currently a signed bike route, but if you've ever done the 50 States Ride, you probably know that it runs up a steep hill. Putting in a climbing lane, to allow cyclists a place to slowly climb the hill without annoying drivers, seems like a no-brainer. But ANC 3D doesn't see it that way

commissioners voted 7-1 to oppose a D.C. Department of Transportation plan for a bicycle lane on New Mexico Avenue near Nebraska Avenue. “We’re already concerned about pedestrian and car conflicts, and now we’re going to add bicycle and car conflicts,” commission chair Tom Smith said.

Commissioner Kent Slowinski voted against the motion, saying he bicycled safely around Wesley Heights when he was growing up and that bicycling should not be discouraged today.

Their concern doesn't sound very well thought out, unless they're worried about bikes in the door zone. The whole point of a climbing lane is to reduce bicycle-car conflicts. There are frequent readers of this blog who could probably put together a pretty good argument as to why bike lanes cause conflict, but I suspect that would not match the ANC's reasoning.

I asked my ANC commissioner about it and he told me that it was a preliminary discussion and ties in with the traffic problems relating to the AU expansion. No explanation why the need for a vote at the outset of a discussion.

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I currently have been riding this route south bound (down the hill) or at least I was until it got too cold for me :(

Personally I don't see how adding some paint to the north bound lane would affect existing users very much.

Perhaps what the ANC commissioners are afraid of is that by so marking the road it would draw *more* cyclists to using it.

AU is at the top of the hill and has a CaBi station. I've chatted several times with people checking the bikes out and one question they all have asked me is are there bike lanes they can use to ride downtown.

It would be a shame if DDOT let a few narrow minded ANC's block the creation bike friendly transportation network.